Alma is Here to Replace Aleph in the UI's New Library System

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As the world gets tech-savvy, so does library. The university library will go through major revamp, after using an outdate software for more than a decade.

A library system called Alma will take over the management service. The system created by ExLibris Group becomes the library's chosen service to be applied in all of its systems including the affiliates'. Shifting to a newer technology, the University of Iowa Libraries will start to apply the new management service from July. The previous systems such as Smart Search, InfoLink and InfoHawk will still be integrated with the new one. For the online search tool, UI libraries will use InfoHawk+ as an interface to support all university research journals and educations.

ExLibris Group published a press release explaining how their software would replace 15-year-old Aleph with Alma. The cloud based system has a faster system and better workflow that enables dynamic collaborations with all of the school's affiliates. It is a robust system that helps enhancing report integrations. Being reached out for comment, university librarian, John Culshaw, believed that Alma is the right resource that's mature and fit for the UI library.

Exlibris Group spokeperson claimed that the software adopted can become the best cloud solutions for the libraries when it comes to research and analytics. The integrated platform potentially aids the institution to have an improved library services.

The InfoHawk+, according to head of Library Information Technologies Sue Julich, will be able to provide users with easy access to almost any kind of data including videos, music, recordings, journals, and books due to its wide range of digital storage.

University of Iowa Library is one of the schools intensively conducting various researches. Carneige Classification of Institutions of Higher Education claims UI as research-1 institution. For this reason, it's no surprise that library needs to update its service, not only for credibility but for a dedicated solution.